


She's So Lovely

by 0bviousLeigh



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Beginnings of Romance, F/F, F/M, also i'm sort of trash for hokuto/serena, hokuto and masumi are bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-02 09:19:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8661760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bviousLeigh/pseuds/0bviousLeigh
Summary: Masumi is finding out that she's got it really, really bad for Yuzu.A companion/epilogue to my “Isn’t She Lovely” series, but this really isn’t part of it because rather than being about Shuzo and Yuzu’s father-daughter relationship, this is about Masumi’s GIANT CRUSH ON YUZU.





	

“So, why aren’t we with LDS anymore?” Hokuto asks as Masumi leads the way to You Show.

“Because the Chairwoman is a bitch,” Masumi says through gritted teeth.

“I know that,” Hokuto says, “We’ve all known that for years, why the sudden decision to care about it? And why are you in such a foul mood today?”

Masumi ignores him. She should be happy, and she is happy, because Hokuto is back. But she hasn’t heard from Shuzo since yesterday, or from Yoko. She can only assume that her hope for Yuzu’s return was misguided. Surely, if she was back, someone would have told her by now?

“Anyone home?” Hokuto asks, tapping Masumi’s shoulder. “I was saying that I would think Marco-sensei would have been enough for you to stay with LDS, since you have a massive crush on him and all that.”

Hokuto’s trying on purpose to get a rise out of her. He’s still a massive jerk, his time as a card didn’t change that.

“Had,” Masumi says before she can stop herself.

Hokuto screams. “What?! And pray tell, what magnificent specimen got you to tear your eyes off Marco-sensei?”

Masumi turns around, grabs Hokuto by the shoulders, and raises her knee. “What did you say?” She asks, her tone mock pleasant.

Hokuto pales. “Nothing,” he says.

Masumi grins. “I thought so.”

They continue to the school, and Masumi sees a bunch of kids talking excitedly out front. Yaiba is with them, seemingly leading the conversation.

“Nobody opened the door yet?” She calls.

Yaiba shakes his head, and the kids rush to Masumi. “Nee-chan!” The shout, “Did you hear? Reiji Akaba is back, he says the dimensional war is over!”

Actually, Masumi didn’t hear that. “How do you know?” She asks.

“It’s all over the news!” Ayu says excitedly. “That means Yuzu nee-chan must be home!”

Masumi gulps. She hasn’t heard either way, what the news on Yuzu is.

“Do you think she’ll come today?” Futoshi asks.

“I’m sure if she is home, she’ll want to be with her father for a while,” Masumi says, and it calms her down a bit. Masumi isn’t the number one priority in Shuzo’s life, he probably wouldn’t think to tell her.

Masumi claps her hands. “Kids, meet Hokuto. He’s a friend of Yaiba and mine, and he’s going to be taking over XYZ Summoning lessons.”

“Wait, what?” Hokuto asks.

“YAY, NEW SENSEI!” The kids scream, and they fling themselves at Hokuto. He disappears under a pile of a dozen children, and Masumi ignores his shouts for help in favor of talking to Yaiba.

“No word from Shuzo or Yoko?” She asks.

Yaiba shakes his head. “I’m sure they’re just excited to have their kids back.”

“If they are back,” Masumi mutters.

Hokuto stands, a kid tucked under each of his arms, and he yells, “RAWR, I’m a monster coming to get you all!”

The kids shriek and run in different directions. Masumi grins and takes her key out of her pocket—Yoko gave her the key to the school when she offered to teach there, and at first she refused to make a copy for Yaiba, but now that Hokuto is back and clearly loving the kids already, maybe she’ll give him one. And then tell Yaiba he’s too young for his own copy.

When the door is open the kids all race inside, and Hokuto jogs over to Masumi and says, “I see now why you came here.”

“I knew you’d like them,” Masumi says, “You get along so well with Mamoru.” The times he’s come to her house, Hokuto has always played well with Masumi’s baby brother.

To introduce the kids to their new teacher, Masumi has Yaiba and Hokuto duel each other. The kids sit against the wall on the field, mesmerized by Hokuto’s monsters. They all cheer him on, and Masumi cheers for Yaiba so he won’t get too sore. As the duel comes to a close (with Hokuto winning), the door to the duel field opens and Shuzo pokes his head in.

“You _are_ here!” He says happily. “Everyone, I have some new friends for you to meet.” He steps back, and reveals a crowd of teenagers standing in the doorway, and in the front of the crowd are Yuya and Yuzu.

Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya freak out and run to their friends. Masumi feels her heart leap to her throat and start pounding. It’s true, Yuzu is back, and the war is over.

The rest of the kids standing in the doorway are all scarily familiar, in that most of them have either Yuzu or Yuya’s face. Hokuto points at one of them and shouts, “Hey, I know you!”

The girl pales and clears her throat. “Ah, yeah, you do.” She approaches Hokuto and he backs away slightly, looking apprehensive. The girl stops in front of him and bows ninety degrees.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I thought you were an enemy trying to hurt my friends. I was wrong.”

She stands upright once more, and Hokuto clears his throat. “Erm…okay,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I um…forgive you.”

The girl grins. “My name is Serena. And you are?”

“Hokuto.” He’s _blushing._

“FOR GOD’S SAKE!” Masumi shouts, kicking Hokuto square in the butt, knocking him down, “CONTROL YOURSELF!”

On the ground, Hokuto sputters at Masumi, his face bright red, but her outburst has attracted the attention of Yuzu, and she rushes over.

“Masumi!” She shouts, and to Masumi’s surprise, Yuzu hugs her. “What are you doing here?” She asks.

Masumi puts her hands on Yuzu’s back, not quite returning the hug. She’s kind of shocked. “I work here now,” she blurts.

Yuzu backs away and looks at Masumi in confusion. “Here?”

“Wait, you what?!” Yuya asks.

“It’s true!” Shuzo says. He comes over and puts his hand on Masumi’s shoulder. “I bumped into her, literally, one day when I was in a slump, and she helped me pick myself back up. She took it upon herself to come to You Show, and she got a lot of these here kids enrolled in the school. She and Yaiba both teach here now.”

“No kidding!” Yuzu cries, “What about LDS?”

Masumi tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Himika Akaba was rude to your father when all he wanted was answers about you, so I ditched that place.” She points at Hokuto. “I was just telling the kids that’s he’s teaching here, too. A proper XYZ teacher.”

Shuzo hauls Hokuto to his feet and hugs him. “Welcome aboard!” he says, and Hokuto chokes that he can’t breathe.

“You really teach?” Yuzu asks Masumi, “This group of kids?!”

“Nee-chan is the best!” One little girl, Hana, says. She grabs Masumi’s hand and smiles at her. “She says she wants us to learn that dueling is about having fun, not winning, like they teach at LDS.”

Yuzu positively beams. “Wow, you sure changed since I last saw you! I hope we can have a rematch soon. Come on, I’ll introduce you to my new sisters and brother!”

She grabs Masumi’s other hand and pulls her (and Hana, still clinging to Masumi) to the group of teenagers. Masumi feels her face heat up and she distinctly hears Hokuto say, “And I’m the one who needs to control himself.”

Next time Masumi kicks Hokuto somewhere, it won’t be the butt.

 

It’s a solid week before Masumi, Yaiba, and Hokuto can all hang out together for some proper fun. Hokuto’s parents take him all around the country so he can see his relatives, and they enroll him in tutoring so he can catch up on what he missed at school, and now he finally has some spare time to hang with his friends.

“I still can’t believe it’s been months,” Hokuto says as the three of them make their way to the mall. “I don’t remember any of it.”

“Your soul was trapped in a card,” Masumi says, “That’s hardly surprising.”

“You’re the one who couldn’t believe I didn’t know I’d been missing for months,” Hokuto says.

“I was in shock,” Masumi tells him. “I’m not anymore, so it makes sense to me now.”

“So can you apologize for punching me in the gut?” Hokuto asks.

“No, you deserved it,” Masumi says. “For making us worry.”

“For real,” Yaiba says, “She looked everywhere for you, carried a picture of you in her pocket.”

“So did you,” Masumi reminds him. “We both looked.”

“Yeah but you were beside yourself,” Yaiba says.

“Aww,” Hokuto says, batting his eyelashes at Masumi, “If I didn’t know you were a raging lesbian now, I’d totally think—”

Masumi reaches over and smacks him between his legs. “Shut your pie hole.”

“INAPPROPRIATE!” Hokuto squawks, hands blocking Masumi from taking any more shots.

Yaiba hoots with laughter. “Since when has that stopped her?”

“And I’m not a raging lesbian,” Masumi adds, “I’m a normal lesbian. Bisexual. Whatever I am.”

“I know,” Hokuto says, patting Masumi’s head. “I was just teasing you.”

Despite Masumi’s words to Shuzo that she wasn’t sure Hokuto knew he was her friend, when Masumi tried to tell him how sorry she was that she had never told him they were friends, Hokuto had looked at her in shock and said,

“Are you kidding? I’ve been to your house like a bunch of times, I play with your baby brother, and we go to the mall on weekends! Masumi you’re like, my best friend! Plus you like, punch me all the time, if we weren’t friends I’d totally sue you.”

Yaiba had been equally shocked. “Yeah, you treat us like brothers, you always have, of course we know you’re our friend.”

It was funny, Masumi had never thought of her gentle bullying as being friendly. And sure, the three of them spent time together outside of school, but Masumi had never been good about voicing her feelings, so she always thought the two of them just tolerated her. Apparently, she had been wrong, and she’s never been happier to have such a thought.

When the trio reach the mall, they head straight to their favorite ice cream place.

“Haven’t seen you lot around in a while,” The cashier, Meg, says. “I was starting to worry.”

“We’ve been busy,” Hokuto says, “We’re teaching kids to duel now.”

Meg grins. “That’s nice to hear! At LDS?”

“You Show,” Masumi says, “We…switched sides.”

Meg winks. “Well, since you kids are teachers now, you get our teachers discount, which I just made up. Ten percent off, so how do you want to splurge today?”

They make sure to make up for that 10% discount by tipping generously, and the three of them take their ice cream concoctions to a nearby table and have a seat. Masumi got a banana split, Yaiba got a float, and Hokuto has a bowl of sugar rush.

“Like a banana split is actually healthy,” Hokuto says when Masumi voices her opinion.

“How can you eat all that chocolate?” Masumi asks. Chocolate ice cream covered in chocolate fudge syrup and chocolate sprinkles. Masumi likes chocolate, but not that much.

“Leave me alone,” Hokuto says through a mouthful of ice cream, “I haven’t had chocolate in _months._ ”

Masumi rolls her eyes. They eat in relative peace and quiet for a while, when Hokuto suddenly chokes and dives for a napkin.

“Is anything on my face?” He asks frantically.

“No,” Yaiba says. “Why?”

Hokuto points inconspicuously to the right. Masumi reaches for a napkin too, as she sees Yuzu, Yuya, and the large group of teenager that accompany them. Serena included.

“I’m weak,” Hokuto wheezes, his face turning red. Serena is wearing a crop top.

“I wear those all the time,” Masumi grumbles. Well, not all the time, but sometimes. Today she chose to go for a classic yellow shirt and jeans, and she kind of regrets not dressing up more, especially when Yuzu sees the trio and steers her group of friends over.

“Hi there!” Yuzu calls, waving. “What are you all up to?”

“Killing time,” Masumi says casually. “How about you all?”

Yuzu points at the group that trails after her. “These guys needed new clothes. Wow, your ice cream looks really good, where’d you get it?”

It’s just an ordinary banana split, but Masumi looks down and sees Hokuto’s hot mess sitting in front of her. She gives him a death glare, and he says innocently, “What? I wanted a taste?” He takes a bite of her ice cream, then swaps their bowls.

Masumi gestures. “Over there,” she says in answer to Yuzu, her eyes still locked on Hokuto. “I’m going to sic RouRou on you, I hope you know that.”

“Bring it on,” Hokuto says.

“Who?” Yuzu asks.

“My baby brother,” Masumi says, “Mamoru.”

“I didn’t know you had a brother!” Yuzu cries. She grabs a chair and plops down next to Masumi. The rest of her group of friends looks rather confused by this, but Yuzu has eyes only for Masumi. “How old?”

“Three,” Masumi says. She pulls out her phone and shows Yuzu a picture of Mamoru playing with his train set.

“He’s adorable!” Yuzu squeals, “Oh my gosh, look at those cheeks!”

Well, if there’s one thing Masumi can talk for hours about, it’s her baby brother. “He’s the sweetest thing, he follows me everywhere and says he wants to be just like me when he grows up. He can’t really say my name, ‘S’ is a little hard for him, so he calls me Mami.”

“That’s the cutest thing I’ve heard this week,” Yuzu says, “You should totally bring him to You Show!”

“You think?” Masumi asks, surprised. “I mean, he’s still really little.”

“My dad used to duel with me strapped into a carrier,” Yuzu says, “We welcome kids!”

“Yeah, do it Masumi,” Hokuto says, “You know what a ladies man RouRou is, he’ll fit right in at You Show.”

Masumi tells herself that she wasn’t already convinced this was a good idea just on Yuzu’s words alone. She agrees, and Yuzu reluctantly leaves to continue shopping with her friends. Masumi tries not to be disappointed about her leaving.

That night, she remembers how Hokuto had looked at Serena, and finds herself wondering how Yuzu would look in a crop top.

 

Masumi brings up the idea of taking her baby brother to You Show the next morning at breakfast. Her mom isn’t keen on letting Masumi take him somewhere new by herself, plus she has yet to see the school, so she says that she’ll come along, too.

“Don’t embarrass me,” Masumi pleads. “I’m a teacher there.”

“How could I embarrass you?” Her mother asks, “I’m not your papa.”

Well, that’s true, her papa would probably spend the whole time gushing about how pretty and talented Masumi is and how unsurprised he is that she’s teaching, because she’s so great with kids, won’t she be a great mother some day? He’s a lot like Shuzo, actually.

Masumi’s parents have been really supportive of her new teaching job—and it is a job, she gets paid and everything. They say as long as her grades don’t slip, there’s no reason why she shouldn’t continue to do what she loves.

And Masumi does love teaching those rascals at You Show. She’ll never forget the first day she walked into the school and saw Yoko trying to manage, and the moment she decided that the poor woman needed help. She’ll never forget how awed the kids were when she told them that she knew four summoning styles, the only one she was missing being pendulum. She’ll never forget how they begged her to show them, and the rush of pride she got when Hana fusion summoned for the first time.

Masumi goes right to You Show after school. Shuzo is teaching some adults, and Masumi goes to her classroom to do her homework. Her classes start later, since her students are just kids and they have homework, so while Masumi waits for them she takes care of her own work and starts planning her lesson for the day. Normally she doesn’t plan too much, what she’s been doing is picking a different deck theme each week and teaching the kids about the various fusion methods within that theme. Half the time they end up moving to a different topic, because the kids come in with questions.

Masumi will also never forget the first day she got asked a question. She was explaining to the kids the various conditions of a fusion summon, when Ayu raised her hand.

“What?” Masumi asked, “Do you need the bathroom?”

“No,” Ayu said. “What’s the difference between Contact Fusion and Synchro Summoning?”

Masumi had been perplexed. “Where’d that come from?” She asked.

“It seems kinda like the same thing,” Ayu said. “Sora never explained it to me but he said he would. Can you tell us?”

Masumi considered telling her that she would go over that another day, but it had been almost…refreshing to hear a question. At LDS, it was less of a classroom environment and more of a lecture one. Kids listened and repeated, and questions could be asked after the class was over, if anyone cared to know. So she answered the question, and it was like the floodgate opened to other questions.

“Is there an advantage to not using Polymerization?”

“What happens to Polymerization after you use it once?”

“How many Polymerization cards can you have in your deck at one time?”

“Can you get your fusion materials back without sending your fusion monster to the graveyard?”

She was actually impressed by how curious the kids were. They were so young but so eager to learn, and the questions showed that they gave a lot of thought to their own playing styles. Masumi had also found that a good way to teach was through practice, so she built practice decks and would have the kids duel on mats, and instead of holding their cards in their hands, they would place them faceup on their desks. She would then show the class the benefits of playing certain monsters or fusing in certain ways. It was a style of teaching she thought up on her own, and she wished someone had taught her a similar way, rather than having her blindly go on her own, or stand on the field during a practice duel and wait for someone to tell her what to do.

Today Masumi thinks that she’ll start using her own deck theme to teach the kids, and before she can really get deep into planning, her phone rings with a text.

**Mama: We’re here.**

Masumi’s classroom is right over the entrance, so she goes to the window and looks out. Yep, there’s the family car, and there’s Mamoru climbing out, and there’s…

“Oh my god,” She whispers. Her mother looks up at the window and waves, and Masumi waves back quickly before ducking down and putting her head in her hands.

“Why is my life?” She moans.

She races down the stairs and meets her mom and brother at the front door.

“MAMI!” Mamoru squeals. He runs to her and she scoops him up, and he begins kissing her cheek, but Masumi’s eyes are on her mom.

“Mama,” she says, “Are you sure that’s appropriate attire?”

Her mom looks down at her Hōmongi. It’s bright purple with a white floral design, and her obi is decorated with gold and green flowers. An outfit like that would have been classy at LDS, but this school is much more laid back, not to mention Masumi can already foresee the kids grabbing at the fabric.

“What, is the purple clashing with my skin tone?” Her mom asks, “I knew I was looking paler.”

“No, mama,” Masumi says, “It’s just…isn’t it a bit much?”

“Of course not,” her mom says, waving her hand, “Honey, you know I always dress up when I go to your schools.”

“My old school, maybe,” Masumi says, “But this place is different, mama.”

“You teach here,” Mom says firmly, “I ought to dress nicely and make a good impression. Besides I haven’t had a chance to wear this one yet and I’ve had it for a month already.”

Masumi should have known—her mother models Hōmongi in fashion shows and magazines, and in order to portray them flawlessly, she wears them all the time, they’re like a second skin to her. She really only wears street clothes if she’s going somewhere that the Hōmongi might get dirty or where she would need to change quickly. Masumi’s always found it funny how her mother wears jeans to a fashion show where she dresses traditionally.

Before Masumi can say anything else, Mamoru decides that he has had enough of being ignored. “Mami, kiss!” He demands.

Masumi turns her head and smooches her brother, and her mom grins and waves. “Are you Hiiragi Shuzo?”

Masumi groans.

“I am,” Shuzo says. Masumi closes her eyes.

“Lovely to meet you,” her mom says, and Masumi hears her walking to meet Shuzo. “I’m Ayume, Masumi’s mother.”

Masumi finally opens her eyes and turns around. She holds back another groan. Her mom has a real chrysanthemum pinned to her bun, oh dear lord this is not the runway!

The doors open again and the kids come spilling in, and Masumi can hear Yuya and Yuzu talking so they’re not far off either. Masumi is actually going to die, she’s going to crawl in a hole and die.

“Is that your brother?” Ayu asks, “Yuzu said he was coming today!”

Before Masumi can answer, Yuzu walks in the door, sees Mamoru, and lets out a squeal. “Oh, he’s here!”

She jogs over and waves to Mamoru. “Hi, Mamoru, I’m Yuzu. I’m Masumi’s friend.”

Masumi’s heart skips at the word ‘friend.’ Mamoru waves to Yuzu, then he starts to squirm.

“Put me down, Mami!”

Masumi unhands him, and he runs to their mother, who is still talking to Shuzo. Yuzu’s eyes follow his path and her jaw drops.

“Wow,” she says.

Masumi prepares to die.

“Your mom is gorgeous!” Yuzu breathes. “And she looks so young!”

“That’s your mom?” Ayu asks. “She’s pretty! And tall!”

Masumi’s mother finally turns around and her eyes lock on Yuzu. “Oh, I know you!” She cries, “Masumi has told me so much about you!” She comes back over, Mamoru trailing after her, and takes Yuzu’s hands. “I was just telling your dad that the two of you have to come for dinner, it’s been so long since Masumi’s had a girl friend, or a new friend at all…”

“Mama!” Masumi cries.

“Oh I love Yaiba and Hokuto, don’t get me wrong…”

“Good to know,” Hokuto calls. He and Yaiba are coming downstairs from the classrooms. “We were wondering where everyone was.”

“HOKUTO!” Mamoru shrieks. He runs at Hokuto and jumps at him shouting, “I’M GOING TO EAT YOU!”

Hokuto screams and wails, “No, don’t eat me!” He grabs Yaiba and hides behind him. “Save me!”

The three of them chase each other in circles while most of the students dodge them and attempt to get to their classrooms. Ayu hangs back with Yuzu. She looks up at Masumi’s mother and says, “You look really fancy!”

Masumi can feel how hot her face is getting.

“Thank you,” her mom says, bending slightly, “And you look very smart in that uniform. What school do you go to?”

Ayu puffs out her chest and tells Masumi’s mom all about what grade she’s in and what she’s learning at school. Hokuto scoops Mamoru up in his arms and blows a raspberry on his stomach. Mamoru shrieks, and a new voice says, “Aw, you’re so good with him!”

Hokuto nearly drops Mamoru when he looks up and sees Serena, and Masumi promptly snatches her baby brother back. “I can’t trust you with anything,” she complains.

Yuzu giggles. Masumi ignores the way her stomach flips at the sound. “I’ve got to get to my class,” she says. “Mamoru, can you—”

“I wanna go with you!” Mamoru says, clinging to Masumi’s neck. “I wanna see you teach!”

Masumi hesitates. “You have to be good,” she says firmly. “No yelling for kisses while I’m teaching.”

Mamoru pouts. “Kiss now, then.”

So Masumi takes a deep breath and dives in, planting kisses all over Mamoru’s face. When she comes up for air, Yuzu is staring at the two of them with tears in her eyes.

“So cute,” she squeaks. “I had no idea you could be so cute, Masumi!”

Masumi wonders if she can cancel class today, on grounds of her brain being melted.

“Can I come to your class, too?” Yuzu asks. “I can keep an eye on Mamoru for you.”

So much for cancelling class, Masumi thinks as she nods.

The day goes by relatively smoothly, once Masumi gets in her classroom and starts teaching. The kids are predictably excited when Masumi says she’ll use her own deck to teach them, Mamoru behaves himself, he even sits in Yuzu’s lap, and the only other spot of embarrassment she has it when her mom comes to the classroom. Masumi can tell her mom is holding back from saying something, and she hopes to god it’s not a criticism of this school versus the one she used to attend. Her mom ends up sitting in on the rest of the class, and once the kids leave, she comes up to Masumi and puts her hands on her shoulders.

“Sweetie,” her mom begins, and Masumi’s heart leaps to her throat. Yuzu is still in the room, letting Mamoru look at her cards.

“Yeah?” Masumi squeaks.

“I am so proud of you.”

Masumi wasn’t expecting that. “Huh?”

Her mom has tears in her eyes. “You are a wonderful teacher, and I can tell that those little ones look up to you. I know you’re an excellent duelist but I had no idea you were so knowledgeable about so many things relating to the game!”

Masumi rubs the back of her neck. “Ah, I wasn’t always,” she admits, “The kids really pushed me to learn more. All those textbooks are finally coming in handy for something other than the practical sections.”

“Even better,” her mom says. “You’re so grown up…I’m going to cry!”

“Mama!” Masumi says, feeling tears in her own eyes.

Her mom hugs her, then dabs her eyes and says she’s going to go back and talk to that charming principal about making a donation to the school, and she’s off like a shot before Masumi can stop her.

“A donation to the school,” Masumi repeats weakly. “Dang it.” She looks at Yuzu. “Sorry about her.”

“What for?” Yuzu asks. “She seems so nice!”

“Yeah but…well she can be a bit much. I’ve been at LDS for so long, and they’re really big on families donating money in addition to paying tuition, or getting famous people to appear at tournaments as a way of saying ‘Oh look at how many families we represent.’ My mom isn’t exactly a celebrity but she’s a pretty decently recognizable model, she used to get invited to pose with tournament winners at LDS.”

“I thought I recognized her,” Yuzu says. “She presents lots of awards, doesn’t she?”

Masumi feels her face heat up. “Uh, yeah,” she says. “I just really hope she doesn’t overstep her boundaries with your dad.”

“Are you kidding?” Yuzu snorts, “My dad would be all over stuff like that, he’s always wanted to do stuff to promote the school, but we never…well we couldn’t afford stuff like that.”

Masumi takes a seat at a desk next to Yuzu, and Mamoru (having finally realized that class is over) clambers off Yuzu’s lap and into Masumi’s.

“But I kind of like being at a school that’s not crazy about promotions,” Masumi says. “Like, it’s not all about the money, here. It’s about the kids.” She frowns. “Once I was in a tournament abroad, LDS sponsored my airline fee and hotel room, and when I came in second place I was so happy. Then when I got back, Marco-sensei took me aside and told me that it was customary for winners to donate their prize money and awards to the school. I didn’t even really care about the money, what I cared about was the award. It’s in a giant display case at LDS, I think it’s like, behind some other kids first place award, so you can hardly see it.”

“Da-ng,” Yuzu says, changing her words as she remembers that there’s a toddler present. “That sucks. Well I can tell you one thing, my dad isn’t like that at all.”

“And that’s why I like it here,” Masumi says.

Yuzu grins. “By the way, I had no idea you had textbooks. I’ve never even seen a dueling textbook.”

“You can come see mine if you want,” Masumi blurts. “Or I can bring them here,” she adds.

“No, I can come to them,” Yuzu says, “I don’t want to make you drag them all the way over here. Where do you live?”

Masumi gives Yuzu her address and they make plans for Yuzu to come to Masumi’s house over the weekend. Masumi’s already thinking about how she’s got to go home and clean her room, she wants to make a good impression. And suddenly, she really understands her mom’s desire to wear nice things.

 

When Masumi opens the front door, she can immediately tell that Yuzu is impressed.

“Nice place,” Yuzu says.

Masumi feels her cheeks warm up. “Thanks.” There’s a reason she asked Yuzu to come on the weekend—the maids and Mamoru’s nanny have off. But between the marble floors and collection of antiques that lines the entry halls, the display of wealth is definitely present.

Masumi leads Yuzu up the stairs and to the study. There’s six bedrooms in the house, three have been converted to other uses. The study is mostly Masumi’s second living space, after her own room. She’s left her textbooks out on the desk, and Yuzu makes a beeline for them.

“Wow, look at these pictures!” Yuzu says, flipping through the pages. “They’re stunning.”

“Volume two goes into the various fusion combinations of the Melodious deck type,” Masumi says.

“Get out!” Yuzu cries. She picks up volume two and goes down the chapter list. “Hey, the Gem type is in here too, our deck types share a book! That is so cool.”

Masumi’s heart skips several beats. “Yeah, it is,” she says.

Yuzu takes a few pictures with her phone, and Masumi tells her about what’s in the other books. They sit on the tiny sofa, so close that their knees touch. They haven’t been in the study for long before there’s a knock on the door.

“Yeah?” Masumi calls.

Her father opens the door. “Oh, are you Yuzu?” He asks.

Yuzu stands. “I am,” she says, and she goes to the door and shakes Masumi’s dad’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“And you. I’m Naresh, it’s lovely to finally meet you.” He turns to Masumi. “Mama and I are leaving, there’s food in the fridge and if you want takeout—”

“I know, papa,” Masumi says gently. “Go on.”

He blows her a kiss. “Love you.”

“Love you too!” Masumi calls.

“Where are they going?” Yuzu asks.

“To see my grandparents, my mom’s parents.”

Yuzu bites her lip. “Did you want to go with them?”

Masumi waves her hand. “Nah, I see them all the time, and honestly it’s kind of boring. Mamoru’s the center of attention right now, since he’s the baby and all that.”

Yuzu sits down next to Masumi again. “He’s so much younger than you,” she says, “Were you, you know, jealous when he was born?”

Masumi shakes her head. “I’ve always wanted a sibling, and I knew my parents wanted another kid. I was happy when he was born, we all were.” She hesitates. “Actually…for a while we weren’t sure he would make it.”

Yuzu’s eyes widen. “What happened?”

“He was premature,” Masumi says. “Three months.”

Yuzu gasps. “Oh my gosh. I never would have guessed, he’s so healthy.”

“Yeah, thank god,” Masumi says. “When he was born I used to sit in the NICU with him and read to him. I lost count of how many times I fell asleep in there. When I was allowed to put my hand in the isolette, he would grab my finger and I never wanted to take it back. He always had a strong grip, even for such a little thing.”

“That’s so sweet,” Yuzu says. “I used to wish I had siblings.” She smiles. “I guess the universe heard me.”

Masumi nods. “Yuzu…what happened to you? You don’t have to tell me but…”

“No, I want to tell you,” Yuzu says. And she launches into the story of what happened during the Maiami tournament, how she ended up in Synchro dimension and then in a tournament there, how she and the Lancers inspired change, and then how they ended up in the Fusion dimension. She tells Masumi about the people she met and the duelists she faced, and how Leo Akaba was looking to revive his daughter, Ray.

“So, you’re part of Ray?” Masumi asks.

Yuzu nods. “Yeah. It’s all very confusing, I don’t know why the dimension split into four, or why Ray split into four newborns, Leo Akaba didn’t get into it and I wasn’t about to ask him. He was a right piece of work.”

Masumi’s head is spinning. “Yeah, he sounds like one. But that’s all so…it’s crazy.”

Yuzu laughs. “Right?” She says, “I mean, sometimes I hardly believe it happened. And then sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I think I’m back there, or I turn a corner and think I see Leo Akaba in front of me, and it takes me a minute to snap out of that headspace.” She’s suddenly choking back tears. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Masumi says quickly. “It sounds awful, what you went through. And it sounds like, well like you have some kind of PTSD. Have you talked to anyone about it?”

Yuzu shakes her head. “My dad wants me to, but…I mean who could help me with this? It’s unheard of.”

“I’m sure there’s someone who could understand,” Masumi says. “Maybe the situation is unique but the things you’re feeling—fear of someone who hurt you, of being put back in a dangerous situation—that’s not something you’re alone in feeling.”

Yuzu’s face changes, and she looks more relaxed. “Yeah…I guess that’s true. I never thought of it that way.” She smiles at Masumi. “Thanks, I needed to hear that.”

Masumi doesn’t know if she wants to gloat or melt into a puddle. “That’s what I’m here for,” she says.

Yuzu leans back against the sofa and sighs. “You know what sucks though? I lost so much time here. Like, we could have been doing this months ago, talking like this. I wanted to talk to you more, after our duel, after you gave me crystal rose. I still have it, by the way.”

“You do?” Masumi asks.

Yuzu nods. “But I don’t know…Yoko says you were worried about me, and my dad when I vanished. She said that’s how you came to teach at You Show, you were looking for him and found a bunch of rowdy kids instead. That wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t…well, I guess everything happens for a reason.”

Masumi shrugs. “Maybe I would have left LDS anyway. After all, that’s not the last duel we’ll ever have. Maybe I would have come to You Show so I could learn your strategies and kick your butt again.”

Yuzu giggles. “Yeah, maybe,” she says. “But whatever would have happened, I’m glad you’re at You Show now.”

Masumi grins, and before she can say anything else, Yuzu suddenly leans over and kisses her cheek. Masumi jumps a little, and when Yuzu leans back, she puts her hand over the spot where she can still feel the touch of Yuzu’s lips.

“Uh…” Masumi says.

Yuzu smiles. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you blushing every time I get close you since our last duel.”

“Oh,” Masumi says faintly. She clears her throat. “Is that the best you’ve got?”

Yuzu positively smirks. “Is that a challenge?”

“Come over here and find out,” Masumi blusters, despite Yuzu being right in front of her face and getting closer.

Yuzu kisses her again, this time on the lips, and Masumi closes her eyes and practically melts against Yuzu. It’s a long time before either of them feel like stopping, and when they finally do, all Masumi can think about is how much she wants to kiss Yuzu again.

“We should do this more often,” Masumi says.

Yuzu nods. “Yeah, absolutely.”

Then Masumi frowns and says, “Don’t think this means I’ll take it easy on you in our next duel.”

Yuzu laughs, “I wouldn’t have it any other way!”

**Author's Note:**

> so what did you think?


End file.
